An Afterlife Adventure
by Mollyjean
Summary: The entire company is in the afterlife. Everything is perfect, except dwarves and hobbits don't go to the same place in the afterlife. The Company of Thorin Oakensheild has faced orcs, goblins, trolls and a dragon; they are not about to let the afterlife or the plans of the Valar stand between them and their burglar.


Bilbo sat in the middle of a lush green meadow. The sun was bright and warm on his skin and there were birds singing in the nearby trees. From where he sat he could see his hobbit hole and the magnificent gardens that surrounded it. Flowers and vegetables of every color and description made the scene idyllic. Tonight there would be a party near the party tree, his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and dozens of cousins would be there. They would all be happy and smiling, with warm hugs and cheerful kisses and the food, it would be delicious and plentiful.

Bilbo had everything a hobbit could want, which made his tears seem so silly. He had his youth and strength again, he had everything a hobbit could possibly need. But day after day he came here to the meadow to be alone and cry his little hobbit heart out. He missed them, all of them. He missed Thorin's scowl, Bofur's hat, Kili and Fili's mischief, Balin's kind wisdom, all of them. If only he could reach them, but how? Hobbits went to the Far Green Country and dwarves to the Halls of Mahal when they died and died he had. Bilbo had lived a long full life; finally going with Frodo to the undying lands. While hobbits grew stronger and healthier on those wistful shores, they were still mortal and mortals died.

When Bilbo woke up in the Far Green Country, his first thought was finding his parents. Bungo and Belladonna Baggins had been watching the road more and more each day waiting for the first glimpse of those reddish gold curls and those bright green eyes. Finally, finally Bilbo had stepped out into eternity, age falling away from him like a worn, discarded waistcoat and his youth had returned. They'd run to greet him with open arms and loving tears. Their boy was home. He'd hugged them and cried and laughed and cried some more. His parents were young and healthy, full of life... well afterlife. His joy was unbelievable. He had run through the meadows, planted his own garden and settled into a smial near his parents that was a copy of Bag End.

It was wonderful. The parties they'd had. The stories that were shared around the party tree. Bliss, that was what he felt, true bliss. The evenings were perfect, he could read and study his maps and visit his parents and grandparents and family. After all the noise and clamor with that dragon and the orcs and trolls. Ewww...those trolls…..just terrible. But, here everything was exactly what a proper, respectable hobbit wanted; good food, a good pipe, family nearby, green rolling hills with little sparkling rivers and peace and quiet. Most of all he wanted his peace and quiet.

Day turned into happy day and Bilbo was so very content. He didn't miss the noise or the danger or those...dwarves. No, not at all. He didn't miss the way Thorin eyes were crystal blue, or Fili and Kili being inseparable or Bofur's smile and that hat. No, he didn't miss Balin's kindness and wisdom, or Dwalin's gruff caring or Dori being a mother hen or Nori's trickster habits. No, he didn't long to hear one more story about Gloin's son and have to yell at Oin to make him hear. He didn't miss Ori's wide-eyed wonder or Bombur's cooking or Bifur's understanding nods. No, not one bit. Which is why he came alone to the meadow each day to cry, hoping one day he would no longer feel the emptiness that had started to grew in his heart?

* * *

><p>Yavanna scanned the Far Green Country looking for the source of the tears. She had felt them and when they had not abated, she knew her child must be in terrible pain. She would find her little one and move The Far Green Country and middle earth if necessary to make their eternity happy. Life was filled with more than enough tears, the afterlife should be a place of joy.<p>

* * *

><p>Thorin looked through the Halls of Mahal for the thousandth time. His hobbit was not here. It was long past time for Bilbo to have died but still there was no sign of him. Then one day he felt it, as surely as Mahal's beard, he felt Bilbo enter the afterlife. But he was not here. The company had talked it over and Balin had reasoned that Hobbit's must go to a section of the Halls of Mandos, since it was said they were somehow related to Men. That's when they had formed the plan. Go and get Bilbo. He was their hobbit after all. There had to be a way to get from the Halls of Mahal to the Halls of Mandos and once there they would search until they found where the hobbits were. Ori thought he remembered reading about a section of the Halls of Mandos called the Far Green Country where hobbits spent the afterlife. Sounded right, hobbits would love a green country, so that was where they would look first once they found an way to the realm of the afterlife for men and hobbits.<p>

* * *

><p>Belladonna was the first to notice it. The tears that glistened in the corners of Bilbo's eyes when others told their stories and how he excused himself rather that speak of the dwarves he'd befriended.<p>

"Bilbo Baggins, something is wrong and you are going to tell me this instance. Life is hard enough without carrying pain into the afterlife too."

"Mum, I love you and Da and I love everyone here, even Lobelia ...a little, but I miss them Mum. I miss my dwarves, they became family to me and I know it is greedy but I want you all. I want my family and my dwarf family. How Mum, how can I make it happen? What can I do?"

"Well now little Master Baggins, it looks like we'll just have to make a plan and have an adventure."

Belladonna smiled a bright smile at her son. This was going to be fun, the most fun she'd had in an eternity.

Blibo gave his mother a half-relieved, half-worried smile in return. He was relieved that she was going to help and he knew she'd do just about anything to get him his dwarves. He was also worried that she was going to help and he knew she would do just about anything to get him his dwarves. Looking at the mischievous smile his mother now wore, Bilbo wondered where you went if you got kicked out of the afterlife.

Belladonna Baggins was a force to be reckoned with and her family knew it. She gathered the entire Took and Baggins clans together and explained in no uncertain terms that her boy was sad, heartbroken and they were ALL going to help. What she needed was for them to start searching for a way to get from the Far Green Country to the Halls of Mahal. She explained that it could be a bridge or a river to cross or a tunnel or a mountain to climb, or just a odd looking gateway, but it had to be somewhere and they were going to find it. "For Bilbo." she called to the assembled clans. "FOR BILBO!" they cheered.

* * *

><p>Yavanna smiled at Belladonna and Bilbo. It had taken a little awhile to find them but as she and her husband Mahal looked through the mists they turned to each other and smiled.<p>

"My love, it appears your dwarves have stolen my little one's heart."

"He has excellent taste my darling as did you." Mahal winked at his wife who blushed and kissed him on the cheek.

"What shall we do for them? My child's heart is breaking and his sadness cannot be allowed to continue."

"My children owe him much. He is a brave little fellow. I can see your spirit in him, my darling. My children are determined to find him. He is deep in their hearts as well." Mahal drew his wife closer.

Yavanna smiled and put her arms around her beloved husband. "Then we will help, just a little."

"Just a little."

* * *

><p>"Hold on Kili!" Fili and Dwalin were each trying to reach Kili who had managed to get too close to the edge of a cliff while searching for the pathway between realms. Fili had him by the hand and Dwalin was reaching for his arm when all three went over the cliff to the horror of their fellow dwarfs. Thorin rushed to the edge but saw nothing, then suddenly the Fili, Kili and Dwalin were laying on the ground behind Thorin.<p>

"What happened?" Kili asked.

"No idea." came the reply from Fili.

Thorin rolled his eyes. Mahal only knew what trouble his dwarves would manage to find while they "helped" him search for a way to reach Bilbo. At least hobbits were more sensible.

* * *

><p>Bilbo wondered if all hobbits were this insane or was it only the ones he knew. "What are you doing in those trees?" He called to four of his cousins. They were standing on thick tree branches waving rakes and hoes in the air.<p>

"Bilbo! We're looking for a way into the Halls of Mahal."

"Ummm...in a tree?"

"No, that would be silly now wouldn't it. We're looking in the air. If one of the rakes or hoes hits it, it would disappear into it, now wouldn't it. Really Bilbo, that's terribly obvious."

"Err...right...certainly..yes, thank you for looking."

Bilbo walked quickly...very, very quickly away. On his way back to his smial he saw another group of hobbits digging a large extremely deep hole.

"Cousin Bilbo," one yelled as he passed by. "We haven't found the passage to your dwarves yet but if it's in the ground we'll dig down to it."

Bilbo forced a smile and waved as he started to run back to his smial. Once there his shut and locked the door, sat down by the fireplace and wondered if somewhere Yavanna wasn't laughing.

* * *

><p>Belladonna, who had suggested both searching the air and digging a hole in the ground, sat in her smail, smiling. She was certain that this much craziness must have attracted Yavanna's attention by now and she had faith that the kindhearted Valar would help her boy.<p>

* * *

><p>Thorin was really a little afraid to ask why several of his company were diving into a river and then popping back up to the surface over and over again. Balin walked up beside him and winked.<p>

" Balin, do I even want to know?"

Balin patted Thorin on the back, " Well laddie they had a thought." Thorin and Balin exchanged looks and Balin chuckled before continuing. "They thought there might be an opening in the water or on the river bed."

Thorin just groaned and closed his eyes.

"Thorin, over here!" Dwalin called, "A tunnel, where do you think it goes?"

Thorin started down the dark tunnel, it went on for miles. The others followed him wondering where they were headed. Then Kili saw it; a ray of sunshine in the far distance. They came closer and could see the tunnel appeared to be blocked by a rockslide but you could see through gaps in the boulders here and there. The other side appeared to be a green, sunlit meadow with flowers growing everywhere.

"Do you think that's it...where they keep the hobbits?" Ori asked wide-eyed.

"Well it looks hobbity to me laddie...well what I can see of it anyway. All green and sunny with flowers, looks like everything a hobbit would want." Bofur stated while peering through a gap.

"Can yo see anyone?" Fili asked.

"Not yet." Kili answered disappointed.

Well, we'll just have to get to the other side of the rock slide and see what's there. It can't be coincidence that a tunnel just happens to be here. It must lead to the Halls of Mandos and the Far Green Country of hobbits. Even if it does not, it still truly does look like a place that our hobbit would want to be. We have to start somewhere looking for him. It may as well be right here. Wait I see someone a child or no, no a hobbit lass. Yes, this is it!" Dwalin proclaimed.

Thorin was elated. He thought it odd that they had never noticed this tunnel before and that there should actually be hobbits there but this was the afterlife, perhaps the bad luck and doom that had followed him in life simply did not exist here.

"Uncle, call to her, maybe she knows Bilbo. They might be related, I think most hobbits are you know."Kili suggested excitedly.

"No, Kili. We don't want to attract attention. We are probably not supposed to do this, so we have to be quiet about it." Fili offered.

"Oh, we don't want Maha..."

"No, we don't. He might stop us and we can't risk it." Thorin clamped his hand over Kili's mouth. "Come we need tools." Thorin was going to get his hobbit no matter what.

* * *

><p>Of all people, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins found the tunnel. She didn't get too close but Lobelia was fairly sure that it seemed out of place. Biblo hugged her when she showed it to him. Of course being Lobelia, she had to be thanked profusely and cheered by the crowd and as a reward Belladonna give her eight silver teaspoons. Bilbo grimaced at that but if this got him his dwarves back well that was fine.<p>

The rockslide was too much for the hobbits to clear. They needed an idea and Bungo had it. First, they would gather the fireworks that were stored for the next big party and pile them at the entrance to the tunnel; when simply set them off. The explosion would either move the large boulders enough for them to make a path or close the tunnel forever. It was a chance, but Bilbo saw no other way.

* * *

><p>"Well now, my children plan to dig through a rock slide and your's plan to blow it up." Mahal rolled with laughter. "It's a good thing they are already in the afrerlife, my darling."<p>

"True my love, but I want them to succeed, they care so much for each other. Are you certain that the rockslide was a good idea?" Yavanna softly but firmly asked her husband.

"They have to earn the right to move between the realms." Mahal stated matter-of-factly. Then looking into his wife's sad eyes, "We'd better do a little more to help them. Yavanna my darling, I knew my dwarves were stone headed but it looks like your hobbits rival them in every way." Mahal laughed again and Yavanna pouted just a little.

* * *

><p>"Here stuff the fireworks right here as close to the opening as possible, Bilbo." Bungo had succeeded in gathering enough fireworks to clear five tunnels and very likely bring this one down on itself.<p>

"Bofur, Bombur, start just there with the pick axes, Kili, Fili, you start over there, once we get pass this first boulder the others won't be so bad." Thorin knew stone and he knew he would go through all the stone in the afterlife to see Bilbo again.

"Did you hear something Da?" Bilbo looked through the tunnel and saw only boulders, but he was certain he hear something, maybe voices. Bungo lit the fuse on the fireworks.

"Fili did you hear something, sounded like voices?" Thorin asked.

An instant before the fireworks went off the hobbits and dwarves all stopped and tried to look through the little gaps in the rocks.

"Bilbo!"

"Thorin!"

The fireworks went off exploding with such force that both hobbits and dwarves could feel the ground shake. The dwarves ran back as far from the explosion as possible. Then the rumbling started and and when the dust cleared a huge section the tunnel was completely closed. Giant boulders barred the passageway. Bilbo and Thorin each stood on their respective sides just staring at the damage, their hope all but gone.

* * *

><p>Yavanna touched her husband's arm and he smiled back with a knowing look on his face.<p>

Unseen by each other but almost in unison Bilbo and Thorin each dropped to their knees and asked Yavanna and Mahal to let them be reunited. A single tear rolled down Thorin's and Biblo's cheeks, when their tears touched the ground there was a sound like a roaring wind and then they each heard their companions gasp. Looking up they saw...each other. The tunnel had changed into an archway that led between their two realms. The dwarves rushed their hobbit to the cheers of Bilbo's relatives and friends.

After many hugs and pats on the back the Company of Thorin Oakensheild stood alone in the meadow beside the archway. The other hobbits had gone to prepare a feast for their new friends and to celebrate Bilbo's joy.

Suddenly a mist formed inside the archway and the company stared at it suspiciously. Yavanna and Mahal stepped forth arm in arm.

"Who dares breach the barrier between the realms." Mahal thundered and the Company trembled. Yavanna frowned directly at Bilbo who dropped his head.

" Please My Lord and Lady," Thorin began, "We have been through so much in life and have bonded so closely; to spend the afterlife separated is painful. It has caused an emptiness to grow in all of us. We are...a family."

"So, you go behind our backs and take matters into your own hands! What should we do with these children my love. What punishment is fitting!"

The company moved closer together, holding onto each other and pushing Bilbo into the center of the group as they waited to hear their fate.

"You are sentenced...to go back and forth between the Halls of Mahal and the Far Green Country whenever you want." Yavanna proclaimed with a laugh and Mahal chuckled

It took a moment before the Company realized what had just happened. Then there was shouts of joy and hugs all over again.

"Children, all you ever had to do was ask." Mahal said kindly. Yavanna smiled and with that the Valar vanished.

The dwarves followed Bilbo back to the hobbit settlement where he proclaimed the news to the assembled clans adding that, "The dwarves' customs and manners are...different but they are good people with big warm hearts. The afterlife will be even better now and you wouldn't believe how much they like to party."

A cheer went up from both hobbits and dwarves.

"Speaking of parties there is one waiting for us all, complete with fireworks." Belladonna proudly announced happy her plan had worked.

The dwarves and hobbits partied well into the night. It was only the first of an eternity of such parties both at the party tree and in the Halls of Mahal.

Bilbo just stared at his dwarves. He loved each and every one of them. Now...now the afterlife was complete. There was no more emptiness; one little hobbit's heart and the hearts of thirteen dwarves were filled with joy.


End file.
